https://look.satv.co.jp/content_news/incident/62719
An American man, 67, entered Mount Fuji alone on June 26th via the Fujinomiya trail for a climb. He later fell ill inside his tent while staying overnight. On the morning of July 4th, another climber heard a fragmented "Tasukete" (Help me) in Japanese coming from the tent and reported it to the fire department.
The man was transported by a bulldozer driven by a mountain hut staff member and handed over to the police and fire department at Mt. Fuji's 5th station. He was then taken to the hospital. He's believed to have suffered from hypothermia, and when rescued, he was reportedly naked, possibly feeling hot inside the tent. Although he had a tent and warm clothing, the man was wearing sandals instead of hiking boots when he began his ascent.
The man somehow made it to the Fujinomiya 5th station and had climbed up to the New 7th station. There are gates above the 6th station as the mountain is officially closed, but the man reportedly said, "There was a gate, but I was too tired to notice it." He also stated, "This is my third time climbing Mt. Fuji" and "I didn't know I wasn't supposed to climb."
The official opening of Mt. Fuji on the Shizuoka side is July 10th. Police are urging climbers, "Please do not climb Mt. Fuji during the closed season. After the mountain opens, please ensure you have proper climbing gear and refrain from climbing if you are not feeling well or if the weather is bad."
by 100rad
28 comments
Honorable mention for a Darwin Award. Naked and alone in a tent on Mt. Fuji. He should write a “How to…” guide.
What is it about Fujisan and Mt Everest that compels so many unqualified, unfit people to throw their lives/dignity away trying to climb it? It’s only by the mercy of the Japanese rescue services that Fujisan isn’t a graveyard like Everest based on the number of incidents with stupid tourists this year alone.
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He might also got himself 高山病 altitude sickness from this adventure and may find it hard to get into future mountain climbing adventure.
No surprise that they couldn’t mention a foreigner in trouble without mentioning how not 上手 his Japanese was.
Actually was always taught to strip down, especially if you are in wet gear and hyperthermic and get into your bag.
What a waste of resources.
>”There was a gate, but I was too tired to notice it.”
>
>”I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to climb.”
Sounds like bullshit.
These idiots are going to ruin it for people that actually enjoy and have experience off season in alpinism.
Crazy MF
I hope they bill him for it all. What a moron.
If he speaks enough to get out a tasukete he knows that Fuji was not open.
I find his oblivious gaijin routine completely unbelievable.
Hopefully they fined him for the rescue afterwards.
that’s my fucking tax, let them pay rescue fee from their pocket
At some point the line between ‘reasonable precautions’ and ‘willful ignorance/negligence’ has been crossed.
The latter should incur all associated costs for the rescue and medical treatment.
Did they remember to get his phone or will there be another rescue of this guy next week?
I remembered a US Marine tried to climb Mt Fuji with a couple of friends. Drunk with bottles of JD’s to celebrate his birthday. The friend decided to turn around and head back to base. Next day a search team found the Marine frozen to death. True story in the 80’s.
How can you say one word in “broken Japanese”?
The only thing that I really noticed up there was blooming rubbish chucked all over the place. I was mesmerized by it.
Charge these people in full for their rescues and take their passports until it is paid. This is insane rescuing naked tourists in sandals.
I dont know if it really impressive or totally stupid
Fine him for the money spent to rescue. Then deport. Don’t need those types in Japan. At least he isn’t as bad as that Chinese guy that had to get rescued by helicopter twice from Mount Fuji.
“American tourist” is turning into a meme, lol.
67. And you still don’t know any better
Sandal climbing/running is how my people (Rarámuri) do it and it became all the rage and an entire movement for a while for capitalism reasons – those “barefoot” shoes that got made up – especially around certain climbing and hiking types. It’s not an invalid way to do things, *if* your body is built for it.
My take, given his prior experience with the mountain, is he made a simple error and the mountain took his sanity thus and he had to depend on prior experience and goal-oriented thinking to attempt to proceed. He was already “cooked” before he reached those closed gates.
It’s very easy to get stuck on autopilot, especially once you reach closer to your 70s.
People should be more compassionate towards this man. It’s just an accident that took too long to notice before it was too late. His only folly is he should have gone with a partner of some kind.
Don’t go climbing Mount Fuji thinking it’s a picnic! Mt. Fuji is a rocky mountain that is over 3000m high. Even in summer, the temperature near the summit is like winter. There is a risk of hypothermia and altitude sickness. With proper preparation and help from an adult with experience in climbing, even elementary school students can climb Mt. Fuji. If a healthy adult male is lucky, he can return safely wearing a short-sleeved shirt and sandals. However, people die on Mt. Fuji every year. It’s best to stop leaving your family’s lives to your luck.
My family friend (American like me) has told his wife:
“I’d rather ask for forgiveness than permission”
I feel like this is the motto of anyone dumb enough to do this lol
Natural selection
Natural selection defined here.